'Apes' another superior summer sequel

Tremendous special effects and a broader scope make ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ special

By Anders Wright • U-T
| 4:15 p.m.July 10, 2014

This photo released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation shows Andy Serkis as Caesar in a scene from the film, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)
The Associated Press

This photo released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation shows Andy Serkis as Caesar in a scene from the film, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)

“Dawn of Planet of the Apes”

Rating: PG-13

When: Opens Friday

Where: Wide release

Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

★★★

Hollywood is frequently derided for churning out sequels that are mere retreads, cash grabs designed to tap the same financial well a second time without offering anything new. Where, one might ask, is the next “Empire Strikes Back” or “Dark Knight”? Those built on their original concepts, furthered the evolution of entire worlds and raised the bar for each of the franchises.

The fact of the matter, however, is that while 2014 hasn’t been a tremendous year for movies, it has been a terrific year for sequels. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was bigger and grittier than Cap’s origin story, and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” has turned out to be one of the summer’s greatest surprises, a tour de force of animation and storytelling. Included with them must be “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” the follow-up to the 2011 conceptual reboot that introduced us to Caesar (Andy Serkis) and a new generation of talking apes.

Matt Reeves’ sequel swings above and beyond the last movie, in terms of size and scope, and if not every character is as well developed as in the previous film, it’s a forgivable slight, because some of the acting is tremendous, and the special effects are some of the best, well, ever.

The intro is short and smart, catapulting us a decade past the last movie, which ended with Caesar and the rest of the apes vanishing into the redwood forests north of San Francisco. The apes left behind a strain of simian flu that decimated the human population, and in this new world the ape population has grown and evolved while the few humans who are left are scrambling to survive in a world that has become cold and dark. It is then that Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and a small band of explorers from a human colony encounter the apes and are turned away when tensions between the two species erupt into violence.

Malcolm makes a connection with Caesar, however, and returns to the woods to explain that unless they can fire up a small hydroelectric dam, the lights will go out in San Francisco. The potential for a human-ape war is enormous, and though it seems as though the cool heads of Malcolm and Caesar might be able to contain the hawkish members of their respective species, eventually violence boils over. That leads to a tremendous ape-on-human firefight, which probably features the only time this year you’ll see a screaming ape firing dual machine guns while spurring a terrified horse through a wall of flame. And he’s the bad guy.

Top billed this time is Andy Serkis, the king of modern motion-capture acting. As he should be. Once again, he turns in a tremendous performance as Caesar, the evolved ape thrust into a position of responsibility. The first film was all about Caesar’s development, but now he’s older and wiser, the leader of hundreds of apes, and the father to Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston), a rebellious son who distrusts humans and is contemptuous of his old man.

Caesar is pressed by his second-in-command, Koba (Toby Kebbell), to go on the offensive, but also remembers his upbringing, and knows that the actions of a single human do not define the species. It is a regal, epic performance, but while the ape roles — or, should we say, human-ape roles — are nuanced, the humans are fairly one-dimensional, either good or bad. Malcolm, his son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and his girlfriend Ellie (Keri Russell), are on the side of reason, while characters like Carver (Kirk Acevedo) and the human leader Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman) are prone to violence and war, and their ilk tend to be nasty, venal, violent types who would always shoot first and ask questions later.

While well told, the story becomes eventually predictable and the political and social allegories become obvious. Still, this is a solid summer blockbuster, terrifically entertaining and setting the table for the next film, for which the first two have essentially served as prologue.

What is most remarkable about “Dawn,” however, is the special effects themselves, which are so amazingly immersive and impressive that you may even overlook them. We’re used to digital effects that show us things we’ve never seen before, but in this film, it takes almost no time at all for you to forget that you’re watching humans who have been digitally altered into apes. It’s phenomenal work.

“Fear,” Blue Eyes tells his father, “makes others follow,” and that is the overt allegory found in “Dawn,” the sense that extremism in any culture, religion, or species reflects poorly on the rest, and that hatred and aggression do not an advanced species make. Caesar’s values, the way he treats and appreciates and teaches those who will listen that just because other creatures are different does not necessarily make them evil, makes his character all the richer. We could all learn a thing or two from these damn dirty apes.

Anders Wright writes about movies for U-T San Diego. Email him at anderswright@gmail.com